Some 15 thousand athletes from 45 countries in Asia that participated in the Asian Games had returned to their respective countries, and they will continue to recall the hospitality of the Indonesian people as well as the natural beauty they enjoyed in Palembang on the Land of Sriwijaya.
Prior to the Asian Games, several parties were concerned about the possible existence of haze pollution from forest and land fires, as the international sporting event coincided with the peak of the dry season.
The feared haze pollution could have occurred at the time of the Asian Games, as several forests and peatlands in South Sumatra tend to catch fire in the dry season.
However, the haze pollution from forest and land fires that was feared did not occur, and the Asian Games could take place successfully owing to the extensive efforts made by South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin and his staff to prevent it.
Haze pollution has been one of the most serious problems in countries, including Indonesia, having wide expanses of forest areas, but efforts had been made to free the Asian Games from such an environmental catastrophe.
The governor, on various occasions, had always reminded the community that South Sumatra should not be exposed to haze due to forest and land fires during the Asian Games.
The provincial government of South Sumatra had also formed a land and air task force to prevent forest and land fires for the success of the international sporting event.
Since 2000, Indonesia has annually received complaints from neighboring countries over haze arising from forest and land fires in the dry season.
However, additional hard efforts to improve the system and procedures on ways to cope with forest and land fires continue to be undertaken at the national and regional levels to combat haze pollution.
Forest and land fires that were likely to occur were feared to cause problems, as some hotspots were located in proximity to the Asian Games venue, especially Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang, South Sumatra.
However, efforts to cope with forest and land fires in the past few years have been quite successful in reducing smoke pollution, so the international sporting event of the Asian Games was really free from this environmental problem.
Through serious cooperation and hard work of all stakeholders, the implementation of the Asian Games in Palembang was safe from haze pollution.
To ensure the venues of the Asian Games matches in Palembang were free of smoke arising from land and forest fires, numerous smoke detectors were installed in the Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) area.
JSC Palembang Director Bambang Supriyanto remarked that four temperature and smoke detection devices had been installed at the Athlete Hall, Shooting Stadium, Athletic Stadium, and Jakabaring Sriwijaya Stadium.
The temperature and smoke detection devices were a grant from the Center for Research on IOT data and resiliency initiatives from ICTP UNESCO.
Supriyanto noted that it was part of the efforts of the government to detect early humidity and smoke haze, including the direction of the smoke haze.
In addition to optimizing the temperature and smoke detection devices, South Sumatra Province had formed a Forest and Land Fire Task Force comprising the TNI, Polri, Manggala Agni Fire Brigade, and government officials as a precautionary measure against land and forest fires in the dry season.
Although forest and land fires were still found in the districts of Ogan Komering Ilir and Musi Banyuasin, this incident did not cause smoke disasters in Palembang City during the Asian Games.
In addition, the government had intensified Weather Modification Technology to bring rain to ensure no smoke disasters occur during the Asian Games from August 18 to September 2, 2018.
Commander of the Air Force Base in Palembang Colonel Pnb HR Sutrisno stated that the Air Task Force aggressively conducted cloud seeding operations after additional aircraft arrived in Palembang.
According to Sutrisno, this effort was quite fruitful, as several locations had received rain despite being the peak of the dry season.
In addition, the South Sumatra neighboring province of Riau was able to prevent land and forest fires to ensure the success of the games.
Riau Governor Arsyadjuliandi Rachman had remarked in Pekanbaru that by preventing land and forest fires, the city of Palembang was free from haze pollution during the international sporting event.
During the Asian Games torch relay ceremony at the Riau provincial government office that time, the governor had stressed that various parties in the province had continued to work hard to prevent forest and land fires, so that smoke will not spread to Palembang.
In addition to ensuring the success of the Asian Games, Governor Arsyadjuliandi noted that Riau had helped to encourage athletes, who will participate in Asia`s biggest sporting event.
As the host of the Asian Games, Indonesia was able to ensure that land and forest fires did not occur during the multi-sport event, and that the country`s image and flights were not disrupted by the haze.
EDITED BY INE
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
